The Rules of Deployment
by madame.alexandra
Summary: Jenny (and Anna!) have a bad scare. ACD Jibbs - set before the prologue of the original story!


_a/n: inspired by some TV i was watching today about a military mom. _

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_The Rules of Deployment_

_May, 2017_

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Jennifer Gibbs had made the potentially dangerous decision to leave the living room and go to the bathroom while her infant daughter played on the floor. The baby wasn't mobile yet, but she had still spent about eight minutes stressing over whether she should just take the seven-month-old with her.

She returned in record time, and Anna was looking around with wide eyes, apparently baffled to find she was suddenly alone. Jenny grinned, and crouched down on the floor.

"I'm right here," she cooed softly, scrunching up her nose and grinning. "Did you miss me?" she asked.

She picked Anna up and held her close, strolling over to the couch and collapsing onto the couch. She lay on her back and settled Anna on her stomach, smiling at her. Anna leaned forward and placed her hands on Jenny's shoulders, grinning at her.

Jenny grinned back.

"How are your teeth?" she asked conversationally.

Anna's face was a little flushed; she'd come right out of the flu and started teething, so she'd been a little unhappy for the past week or so. The baby tilted her head and lay down, pressing her head into Jenny's shoulder.

Jenny shifted, and got up. She went to the sink and wet a soft washcloth with cold water, then got a piece of ice from the freezer and wrapped it up in the washcloth. She resumed her place on the couch lazily and sat Anna up on her stomach, coaxing her to suck on the cloth.

Anna did so happily, her lashes fluttering. She reached up and clutched at Jenny's knuckles.

"It'll be worth it," Jenny told her solemnly. "You'll get two rows of pretty, white teeth, and then your smile will _glitter, _and you can eat better food," Jenny laughed, "like chocolate bars and mozzarella sticks."

She paused, and tilted her head, crinkling her nose.

"Well, maybe Mama will make you eat vegetables," she whispered. "In public," she amended, "so from the outside, I look like super mom."

Anna giggled and spit the rag out, lunging forward. She almost smacked her head onto her mother's lip, but Jenny dodged it, and caught Anna against her shoulder. She laughed – she'd gotten so used to empty weekends with just herself and her daughter that she rarely felt bored or jittery during them.

This was just another deployment Saturday, and she spent it in a boring, normal way with the baby, no plans, no chaos, no husband –

Anna sneezed and Jenny laughed, lifting her head to check her eyes and feel her head.

"You're okay," she murmured, talking half to herself. She caught the baby's eye. "You want to go for a walk later?" she asked. "It might be cooler, near sunset," she went on, "we can go see if Mrs. Knight's puppy is out, and she might let you pet her again."

Anna reached clumsily for the rag again and Jenny was content to fall silent and let the teething little girl gum it for comfort. She smiled at her softly, distracted by her little blue eyes.

She glanced down at the precious little patterned romper Anna had on, and thought she should take a picture – yes, a picture of Anna in the new romper by the flowers Gibbs had planted; Gibbs hadn't seen this romper, and he needed a May care package.

"Anna," Jenny sang softly. "You want to take some pictures for Daddy? Hmm? Let him see how nice we kept his flowers? You – "

She broke off abruptly.

The doorbell had sounded.

She stopped short, looking at the baby. Anna blinked, her and turned her head down, pulling at Jenny's soft sweater. Jenny listened to hollow quiet of the house – almost unsure she'd heard it.

It rang again, and she turned her head, staring from the arm of the couch to the stained glass door just beside the stairs.

It was Saturday afternoon, she wasn't expecting anyone, and the doorbell was ringing.

She was a Marine's wife; doorbells unexpectedly ringing were even more ominous than routine phone calls.

There was a tall, shadowy figure in a military cover on her doorstep – she could stop the shape of that hat a million miles away.

Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach and she felt like vomiting. Anna dropped her cold cloth into Jenny's hand, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

She stared at the baby – she couldn't put Anna down, she'd have to carry her to the door – but she didn't want to open the door.

They only came to the door for one reason, didn't they?

She didn't want to see a chaplain standing her doorstep. She had a baby to raise. She needed –

The doorbell rang again, more insistently, and she took a deep, short breath. She closed her eyes, swallowed, and stood up, holding the baby close – holding her very tightly. She didn't want to drop her if the bad news hit her too hard, if she wasn't prepared enough.

She stood in front of the door for a long moment, looking at the distorted shadowy figure, and she watched the man – it had to be a man – remove his cap as she approached the door.

Anna pulled her hair, and it didn't hurt; she opened the front door, biting the inside of her lip so hard she drew blood, and she –

Her heart slammed from her stomach into her throat and, for a split second, when she saw her father standing there, she was so relieved that she couldn't speak, and then she couldn't help what came out of her mouth –

"_Fuck_ you, Dad!" she managed hoarsely, and turned and stormed away – leaving him standing, consternated, on the porch.

She dashed into the kitchen and closed her eyes tightly. She heard the front door shut while she was still choking back tears, and when he walked in, she lost her battle and started to cry – more out of unfathomable relief than anything else.

"Jennifer," he started, half reprimanding half _completely_ bewildered.

She didn't let him finish.

"You have a _key_!" she shouted. "You have a key, you don't _ring_ the doorbell!"

"I left the damn – "

"Then you call, you _call_ before you come over!" she interrupted shakily.

Her father stepped forward and gently took Anna – the baby looked startled, and on the verge of tears herself. He held her against his shoulder easily and ran his hand over his granddaughter's back, soothing he. He stared at Jenny, watching her wipe her eyes.

"You, more than anyone, know the rules of deployment!" she hissed, staring at him in annoyance. "Don't ring the doorbell, don't _ever_ ring the doorbell!"

He nodded. He'd been so focused on work and so annoyed with himself for leaving his key behind that he'd just done the natural thing – it was a big mistake on his part. He stepped forward and reached out with one arm, hugging her.

"I know," he muttered. "'M sorry, Jennifer, " he said sincerely. He turned his head and kissed the crown of her head apologetically, bouncing Anna up on his shoulder. "My fault."

She took a deep breath and nodded, letting him hug her and then stepping away. She wiped her eyes roughly and nodded again, emphatically.

"You still scared me to death," she said tiredly. She gestured at her daughter. "I'm glad she's too little to understand."

The Colonel nodded, swallowing hard. He really hadn't meant to make his daughter think he was a Navy chaplain, here to break bad news as gently as possible about Gibbs.

"I haven't heard from Jethro in longer than usual," she admitted, pushing her hair back.

Her father hesitated. He looked down at Anna, and then he made a quick decision.

"You didn't hear this from me," he said quietly, "but the Marines shut down Camp Dwyer. Took down communication lines, been dark. They get up to do the same to Camp Leatherneck, he'll call."

Jenny looked at him for a moment, and then smiled. She rolled her eyes, and sighed.

"You shouldn't do that," she said, half-hearted. "Other Marine wives…they're worried too, and they don't have an in like you."

Jasper shrugged a little. He looked at Anna, and she smiled at him blithely. Jenny reached to take her back, and he gave her another apologetic look.

"I'll make it up to you, Jennifer, the doorbell thing," he said sincerely.

She smiled, and nodded, glancing down at Anna.

"You don't have to make it up to me," she said, taking another deep breath. "It's just three more months, more than half over," she said. "He'll come home, sweetie, I promise."

She touched her forehead to Anna's, nodding to herself, forcing herself to be confident.

Three more months, and their last deployment – ever – would be _over_.

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_May 2017_

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_-alexandra_

_story#228_


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